Earlier in our chapter we learned that even those who should be setting a godly example for the people---priests and prophets---were living lives of excess and debauchery. The Lord deplored their drunkenness and their refusal to follow and teach His holy laws. There are still faithful prophets in the land, such as Isaiah, but a large number of the people were choosing to believe the false words of unfaithful prophets who were assuring them that Jerusalem would never fall. A lot of people chose to believe these lies because they wanted to believe them; if they believed the words of the true prophets they would have to change their ways.
In Isaiah's day the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel is imminent. But Isaiah's birthplace, which is the southern kingdom of Judah, will endure for over a century after the fall of Israel. During the majority of Isaiah's ministry there was a godly king on the throne of Judah and a spiritual revival took place that lengthened the time it took for the people of Judah to fall into as much abject idolatry as the people of Israel. But they will fall spiritually and, as a result, they will fall as a nation.
The Lord spoke earlier in our chapter about how a lot of the people of Judah have already made a "covenant with death" because they have believed lies. A fierce destruction will come that will reveal those lies for what they are, so He says, "Hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through. The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror." (Isaiah 28:17b-19)
When the Lord spoke of the downfall of Israel to the Assyrian Empire, He spoke of the invasion and captivity in terms related to natural disasters. He used the imagery of severe storms to describe how the Assyrian army would storm into the nation, causing the fall of its capital city of Samaria, and seizing and deporting thousands of citizens. The Lord uses similar imagery in today's text when He talks about how Judah will fall to the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Babylon took all but the poorest of the land captive but this was done in three major stages, which may be why in our passage above the Lord says, "As often as it comes it will carry you away."
No rest or relief will be had in those days, when Judah is under constant threat by the enemy. The Lord uses the metaphor of someone unable to get comfortable in bed when He talks about that time. "The bed is too short to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you." (Isaiah 28:20) Nothing in which the people placed their trust will be able to help them. They were depending on the wrong people (sinful priests, false prophets) to guide them. They were calling upon the wrong powers (false gods) to protect them against the enemy.
Living in sin is a hard life. Oh, there is no doubt that there is pleasure in sin but those pleasures only last for a season. (Hebrews 11:25) We can have most anything we want in this life---anything that satisfies the carnal side of our nature---but a price must be paid for it. There will be consequences. As King Solomon, who was the wisest man who ever lived with the exception of the Lord Jesus Christ, said: "The way of a transgressor is hard." (Proverbs 13:15) We may think we are living it up when we are living in sin, but we are harming ourselves and we are harming those around us. There are natural consequences for sin (doing wrong will cause problems for us in this world when we break moral and governmental laws) and there is judgment for sin (from the hand of a holy God).
It is very uncomfortable when we realize we are lost in our sins. I tossed and turned for many a night when I realized I was lost in my sins. The distractions of the daytime didn't bring me any peace of mind either. Night by night and morning by morning I was plagued with this terrifying knowledge. When we continue with our chapter in our next study session we will find the Lord urging the people to use this knowledge for their good: to repent and stop going down the wrong path. They can turn around and avoid a great deal of sorrow.
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